Pushing Me Away
by cruiseaholic
Summary: It's sophomore year for the Clique and the PC is as close as ever... Right? Divisions are formed and sides are chosen, and sometimes "every last word, every single thing you say, you're pushing me away." Assorted Pairings.
1. Run Like You Do, I'm Chasing You

Consider this my official disclaimer for the entire story: I don't own it. Any of it.

Now that that's out of the way, I'd like to point out that maybe it's just me, but I'm not crushing on the same guys as a sophomore as I did as a seventh grader. So, taking that into consideration, this story is going to be filled with crack pairings! Woohoo! Don't worry, I do plan to keep some of the original pairings…but certainly not all of them.

Without further ado, here's the first chapter! Reviews are loved, as always :)

* * *

"Whose idea was it to walk again?" Alicia Rivera grumbled, zipping her Ralph Lauren Black Label metallic pink windbreaker up to her chin. Even zipped all the way up, completely hiding her white crewneck sweater (and impressive chest) from view, the puffy jacket still didn't keep the cold from seeping in.

"Having my driver take us everywhere is _so_ pre-high school," Massie Block explained. Her navy Marc by Marc Jacobs wool felt trench coat had been left unbuttoned over her mint green Chloe sweater dress and opaque black tights—leave it to Massie to look completely unperturbed by the cold. "And since none of us have our licenses yet, we're walking."

"But it's fuh-reezing!" Claire Lyons complained, reaching up with her mittened hands and pulling the faux-fur lined hood of her bomber jacket up over her head.

"That hood will make your hair staticky," Massie warned without bothering to turn and look at Claire, and the blonde quickly lowered it.

"Come on guys, walking is good exercise," Kristen put in cheerfully, adjusting the wool knit hat sitting atop her super-straight dirty blonde hair.

"How many calories do you burn walking?" Dylan asked curiously, causing her four friends to simultaneously roll their eyes. "Because I ate wayyy too much over Thanksgiving break and I desperately need to lose some weight."

"YOU'RE NAWT FAT, DYL," the girls replied in unison. The redhead opened her mouth to argue, and Massie, not in the mood for another Dr. Phil session about Dylan's weight issues, quickly cut her off.

"Okay, we're here!" They were standing outside of Saturday, a restaurant so hip it didn't even bear a sign stating its name—the idea being that you just had to _know_.

"We're eating _here_?" Alicia gasped, momentarily forgetting both the cold and her throbbing feet—the tan sheep skin boots she had tucked her skinny ultra dark wash True Religions into were NAWT made for walking.

Massie shrugged like it was no big deal.

"I thought it was impossible to get a reservation here," Kristen breathed, looking at Massie in awe.

"Puh-lease! Why would _we_ need a reservation?" Massie challenged, striding over to the door and placing a perfectly manicured hand on the handle. "Well? Are you coming or nawt?" The girls scrambled to fall into step behind Massie as the brunette confidently walked into the restaurant.

"Do you have a reservation?" asked the hostess, a woman in her late twenties with light brown hair smoothed back into an immaculate bun.

"No," Massie replied coolly.

"No reservation, no service," the woman sniffed.

"Rebecca, is it?" Massie said, cocking her head to one side as she read the name off the hostess's name tag. "I don't think you know who you're dealing with."

"Oh? And who am I dealing with?" the hostess asked mockingly.

"Massie Block. As in William Block's daughter. As in one of this mess of a restaurant's biggest investors."

The hostess stared at her blankly.

"So here are your options. Either a, seat us, or b, kiss your job here good bye. Because I'm pretty sure my father won't be too happy when he finds out that despite all the money he's poured into this place, his own daughter can't even get a table."

"Will it just be the five of you?" the woman asked, her demeanor instantly transformed.

"Actually, five of our friends are going to be joining us," Massie said. "I hope that isn't a problem."

"Not at all!" the hostess replied nervously. "I'll come get you personally when the table's ready." The woman strode off into the restaurant, her arms laden with the ten menus and sets of forks and knives wrapped into napkins. As soon as the woman was out of sight, the girls burst into speech.

"Ehmagawd!" Alicia screeched. "You never told us William was an investor at this place!"

"That's because he isn't," Massie smirked. "I made the whole thing up."

"What if she goes and asks the manager and he tells her the truth?" Kristen asked nervously, biting her lip.

"Don't worry so much," Massie snapped. "She's too afraid of losing her job to go ask anyone about it."

"Who are the other five people coming?" Dylan spoke up.

"Is it the boys?" Claire asked shyly, hooking a piece of white blonde hair behind her ear.

"Yes, Kuh-laire, it's the boys."

Almost on cue, Derrick Harrington, Cam Fisher, Josh Hotz, Kemp Hurley, and Chris Plovert strolled lazily through the door.

"Hey," Derrick greeted, lifting his palm up as if he were giving a high five.

"Did we miss anything?" Kemp asked slyly, slipping in between Alicia and Dylan and simultaneously sliding his arms around both of their waists. Dylan rolled her eyes and shrugged him off but Alicia giggled and glanced at Josh to weigh his reaction. Her smirk quickly melted into a pout, however, when she saw that her currently off-again boyfriend was too busy stealing Kristen's hat off her head to notice. Kristen laughed as he goofily plopped it on top of his cap, the Yankee's logo showing through the loosely woven yarn.

"Just Massie being amazing," Claire gushed, peeking at Cam out of the corner of her eye. Things had finally gone back to normal between them after their messy break-up at the end of seventh grade, and as much as she valued their new friendship, she couldn't help but wonder if their nightly IM sessions and lengthy phone conversations were leading up to something…more.

"Isn't she always?" Plovert said admiringly, and Massie blew him a kiss.

"Your table's ready," the hostess said breathlessly, having returned. The group of sophomores followed her to the two tables that had been pushed together to fit all ten of them and took their seats. Claire nabbed the chair next to Cam while Josh and Kristen picked seats next to each other. Kemp squeezed himself in between Massie and Alicia, Massie scooting away from Kemp and closer to Plovert. The last to take his seat, Derrick found himself sitting in between Dylan and Claire.

After the hostess retreated, everyone perused their menus, occasionally elbowing the person beside them and pointing out a particularly good looking entrée.

"Are you ready to order?" a college-age waiter with tattoo-covered arms peeking out from underneath the sleeves of his white button-down asked them. Everyone placed their orders, the girls all careful to choose a low-fat, low-calorie option.

"It's getting hot in here," Alicia declared in an overly loud voice, casually unzipping her jacket.

"So take off all your clothes!" Kemp sang, high-fiving Derrick across the table.

"Gross," Dylan burped, and Kristen giggled at the irony. Upon finding that she was the only one who had laughed, she shrugged.

"Dylan called Kemp gross by burping. Kind of an oxymoron," she explained.

"Gawd Kristen, you're such a nerd." Massie rolled her eyes.

"I dunno, I've always kind of had a thing for nerdy girls," Josh spoke up and Kristen and Alicia's faces simultaneously turned red.

"Excuse us, but we have to go, um, use the restroom," Alicia announced, pushing her chair back from the table. Kemp followed suit, grinning like he had just won the lottery.

"Together?" Cam smirked.

"Yes," Alicia replied shortly, grabbing Kemp's hand and pulling him after her.

"Not very subtle, are they?" Plovert commented once they were out of earshot.

"I don't think 'subtle' is what Alicia's going for." Massie glanced at Kristen and Josh, who were now discussing the latest Batman movie. Plovert stared at her in confusion but Massie ignored him, choosing not to offer any further explanation.

After fifteen more minutes of joking, teasing, and flirting, the waiter arrived with their food. Shortly after Alicia and Kemp returned, Alicia attempting to fix her mussed hair and Kemp wiping traces of lip gloss from his mouth.

"Oh good, the food's here," Alicia tittered.

"I bet you built up an appetite," Dylan replied pointedly.

"That's a good thing, because my size four jeans were getting a little loose," Alicia shot back. A niggling voice in the back of Dylan's head reminded her that she could barely fit into her size sixes, and she immediately pushed away her plate.

"Dyl, you barely touched that," Claire commented in concern.

"Nawt hungry," Dylan grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. Claire turned to glare at Alicia, who shrugged.

"How about we ditch this place and go back to my house?" Massie interjected before her friends could start fighting.

"I'm in," Plovert responded quickly.

"Sounds good to me." Derrick grinned, and everyone else murmured their consent. The group of teenagers stood up from their chairs and left the restaurant, leaving behind half-finished plates and crumpled dollar bills.


	2. I'm On Your Tail, I'm Gaining Fast

Thanks so much for all the great reviews! I love you guys x1283791273428937. :)

Sorry if this chapter is kind of short. & sucky. But that's writer's block for you.

* * *

Upon leaving the restaurant, everyone piled into the dirty black mustang handed down to Cam after Harris left for college, Cam being the only one of the group who already had his license. Plovert won the rock paper scissors game for shot gun, and therefore got to sit up front in the passenger seat with Massie squeezed in between him and Cam. Everyone else got to squish into the back seat, which, as Kristen was quick to point out, was made to only seat three.

"You can sit in my lap, if you want," Josh offered. Kristen paused for a second, considering, before perching daintily on his knees, followed by Alicia climbing much less daintily into Kemp's lap. Following everyone else's example, Dylan sat herself in Derrick's lap, leaving Claire to sit in the floor.

"So, what do you guys wanna do when we get there?" Claire asked, feeling slightly awkward about having to look up at everyone to see their faces.

"How 'bout we go for a swim?" Kemp smirked, clearly cherishing the image of the five girls in bikinis.

"Isn't it a little cold for that?" Kristen pointed out.

"It might be too cold for the pool." Massie mused, "but there's always the hot tub!" Referring, of course, to the one located inside the Block's gym/spa.

Upon arriving at the house, the girls disappeared into Massie's room to change into some of her many designer swim suits—Dylan opting to keep shorts on over her bikini bottoms and Alicia careful to choose a less-revealing top. The boys were left to raid Todd's room for five pairs of swim trunks—Todd refusing to let them borrow them at first, but relenting when Claire promised to do his chores for a week.

"GAWD, IT'S COLD!" Dylan screeched as soon as the girls left the warmth of the house, clad only in their chosen swim attire and flip-flops.

The girls squealed their agreement, breaking out into a run and cutting across the manicured lawn to the gym/spa building. Even Alicia picked up the pace to a brisk walk to escape the frigid air. When the five of them burst into the building, shivering and panting for air, the boys were already waiting for them in the hot tub.

"How nice of you ladies to finally join us," Derrick drawled as the girls climbed into the bubbling tub.

"Hey, I don't care about how it long it takes them to put their swimsuits on," Kemp began, earning himself a few appreciative smiles from the girls. "Only about how long it will take to get them back off!" The smiles quickly dissipated as Claire, Dylan, and Kristen splashed Kemp and Alicia playfully smacked him.

"Hey Kemp?" Massie asked innocently. "Are we going camping?"

"No…"

"Then what's with the tent?" Everyone whooped and hollered at Massie's wit, and Plovert leaned over and punched Kemp in the arm.

"She got you good man," he laughed.

"Or maybe you're so whipped you think everything that comes out of her mouth is funny," Kemp retaliated. Plovert grinned sheepishly and made no attempt to deny it, and Massie, who made a rule of always keeping her cool, blushed.

Claire turned to Cam. "Looks like Massie's whipped, too!" she giggled. Cam didn't seem to find the situation very humorous, however, and Claire sighed.

Around eleven o' clock, Kendra Block stuck her head tentatively through the door.

"Isn't it a little bit late for you all to still be here?"

"Mommm," Massie whined, defiantly snuggling in closer to Plovert.

"It is a school night, dear." After a brief staring match between mother and daughter, Massie relented.

"Fine."

"You girls are all welcome to spend the night, of course," Kendra added as the ten teenagers climbed out of the hot tub and began drying themselves off with the complimentary B embroidered towels.

"No thanks." Dylan shook her head. "Like you said, we do have school tomorrow."

Once everyone had changed back into their own clothes and had either been picked up by their chauffeurs or gotten a ride home with Cam, Massie slipped into some comfy pajamas and nestled underneath her covers, palm pilot in hand. The only thing left to do, of course, was sum up today's events in a list.

CURRENT STATE OF THE UNION  
**IN: **Hot Tubs  
**OUT: **Pools

**IN:** Kristen & Josh  
**OUT: **Alicia & Josh

**IN:** Cuddling withPlovert  
**OUT: **Cuddling with Bean

"No offense, Bean," Massie said aloud, glancing at the tiny black pug curled in a ball at her feet. Gently placing her palm pilot on her bedside table, Massie clapped her hands together twice to turn the lights off.

"Sweet dreams," she whispered before drifting off to sleep.


	3. You're Going Nowhere

_I don't know what you do  
but you do it well  
I'm under your spell  
Yo__u got me begging you for mercy—_

"WTF ALICIA."

"I'm asking myself the same question," Alicia sighed over the phone, and Massie found herself softening slightly. But only slightly. She was still of half a mind to promptly hit the 'End' button and go back to sleep.

"Okay, but did you _have_ to call me at two in the morning? You woke me up." Cradling her LG Shine with her shoulder, Massie sat up in bed and clapped her hands together, flooding the room with light. Bean raised her tiny head in confusion at the sudden brightness and jumped off the bed in search of a dark corner to curl up in.

"Sorry, Mass, but I couldn't sleep. Please tell me that I did nawt make out with Kemp at the resturaunt."

"I could, but I'd be lying." Massie stood up and wandered over to her walk-in closet to survey its contents. If she picked out her outfit now, she might be able to sleep in a few extra minutes in the morning.

"Gawd I can NAWT buh-lieve myself sometimes. I can be such a, such a…"

"Jealous whore?" Massie supplied, fingering the fabric of a crisp white cashmere sweater.

"Yeah. That," Alicia agreed miserably. "I just can't stand it when Josh flirts with other girls, you know? Especially when it's Kristen, who is suh-posed to be my friend."

"I get that. But the whole making out with Kemp to make Josh jealous thing? It's not working."

"So what are you saying?"

Massie's lips turned up into her signature half-smile. "What I'm saying is, it's time for Plan B."

--

**ClaireBear****:** it's 2 in the morning. u think maybe we should go 2 sleep now?

Even as she typed the IM, however, Claire was secretly thrilled by the idea of staying up all night talking to Cam. Even if she had to go to school red-eyed and desperate for caffeine, it would be worth it.

**FISHER2: **mite b a good idea :P

**ClaireBear: **so… nite then?

Claire held her breath, hoping Cam would stop her from signing off.

**FISHER2: **w8. b4 u go i have 2 tell u somethin

Claire bit her lip to keep from screaming out loud. This was it, the moment that Cam was finally going to tell her—

**FISHER2: **i like massie

Claire gaped at the screen. Had she read that correctly? Maybe it was some sort of typo. There was no way Cam liked Massie… was there?

**ClaireBear: **like… like-like?  
**FISHER2: **yeah  
**ClaireBear: **? about plovert  
**ClaireBear: **he made it kind of obv he liked her 2day  
**FISHER2: **that's y i need ur help  
**FISHER2: **ur her bff rite?

**FISHER2: **so could u convince her 2 pick me over plovert?

Claire paused to weigh her options. If she told Cam no, he would realize that she liked him and the friendship she had worked so hard to build would be destroyed. On the other hand, if she told him yes, she would have to help Cam get Massie, and she didn't think she could bear seeing Cam with anyone else. Claire sighed. It was a lose-lose situation.

**ClaireBear: **i guess i could try  
**FISHER2: **ur the best claire :)  
_FISHER2 has signed off._

Normally, such a statement coming from Cam would thrill Claire to no end. Tonight, however, all Claire felt was lonely.

--

The next morning Claire woke up to the sound of rain pounding on her window. As cliché as it might sound, the gray, dreary skies matched her gray, dreary mood. As Claire thought back to the IM conversation of the night before, she scolded herself for being so stupid. Of course Cam liked Massie. It made perfect sense, considering how distracted he had been acting the entire time Plovert had flirted with Massie. She had just been too blinded by her own infatuation with Cam to see it.

Despite Massie's recent decision that being hauled around everywhere by the family driver was much too childish for mature almost-sixteen-year-olds such as themselves, not even Massie was willing to risk ruining her prized designer clothing by walking to school in the drizzling rain. As such, she decided that, if only for today, they would go back to using their carpool.

"Thanks again for the last-minute ride, Isaac," Massie said sweetly as she slid into the backseat of the Range Rover, careful not to wrinkle the navy Marc by Marc Jacobs blouse she had paired with her white bubble skirt. Bright red tights, a matching headband, and vintage white Chanel ballet flats added a Blair Waldorf-esque touch to the ensemble. In comparison, Claire knew her Westchester High emblazoned sweatshirt and last season's Sevens looked positively bum-y. No wonder Cam chose Massie over would choose Massie over herself.

"Anytime, Massie," Isaac replied as he backed out of the driveway.

As they started in the direction of Alicia's house, Massie turned to face Claire.

"Why are you being so mopey?"

"What do you mean?" Claire asked, widening her eyes in what she hoped looked like confusion.

"I _mean_ the fact that you've barely said two words all morning, you're slumping in your seat staring miserably out the window, and you're dressed like you just rolled out of bed and threw something on because you were too depressed to care what you looked like."

"Oh, that. I'm just, um, tired," Claire lied, yawning for effect.

"Ehmagawd, if anyone should be tired, it should be me. Alicia called me at effing two in the morning last night," Massie complained. Grateful for the change in subject, Claire feigned sympathy, though in all actuality Claire knew Massie couldn't have gotten any less sleep than she had.

"Really? What about?"

"Does it matter?" Massie rolled her eyes, deliberately keeping the details of the phone conversation to herself. "The point is, I hardly got any sleep last night and I am barely awake now."

"Maybe we should stop at Starbucks for coffee on the way to school," Claire suggested.

"Good idea," Massie agreed. "I would have thought of that myself if I weren't so sleep-deprived. Isaac?"

"Sure thing, provided you're not late to school."

"Puh-lease," Massie scoffed. "Since when do I care about being late to school?"

Thirty minutes later the Pretty Committee arrived at Westchester High, each girl clutching a frappucino in one hand and an umbrella in the other.

"I hate rainy days," Dylan grumbled as they walked side-by-side across the parking lot.

"Your rainboots are cute, though," Claire offered.

"I hope soccer practice is canceled," Kristen commented.

"What, do you have plans with one of the guys?" Alicia sneered.

"Noo, I just don't like practicing in the rain," Kristen replied, shooting Massie a what's-up-with-her? look. Massie shrugged and mouthed 'PMS,' and Kristen's mouth formed an understanding 'oh.'

When they entered the building, the boys were waiting for them by their usual hang out spot at the picnic tables in the courtyard.

"Hey," Josh greeted them, catching Kristen's eye. Kristen smiled shyly in return before taking a seat in the vacant spot next to him.

Alicia's first response was to immediately plop herself down next to Kemp, but Massie caught her eye and discreetly shook her head no. Instead, Alicia pasted a smile on her face.

"So…what's up?" she asked cheerfully.

"Not much," Plovert answered. "That was an insane hot tub party last night," he added, smiling at Massie.

"Too bad my mom came in and ended it, right?" Massie replied, returning the smile. Claire glanced nervously at Cam as everyone except him murmured their agreement.

The bell rang and everybody gathered up their stuff and departed for their first period class. Cam grabbed Claire's arm, and the two of them hung back until everyone else was out of earshot.

"Did you talk to her?" he asked.

"No, not yet."

"Are you _going_ to talk to her?"

"Of course! I said I would, didn't I?"

"Okay," Cam relented. "I just can't stand the idea of Massie and Plovert together."

_And I can't stand the idea of Massie and you together,_ Claire replied silently.

"I guess I'll see you at lunch, then," Cam said, giving Claire a brief hug goodbye.

"Yeah," Claire echoed sadly. "See you at lunch."


	4. Try To Fix What You've Done

Thanks for all the reviews :)

This chapter is dialogue, for the most part, so sorry if parts of it seem kind of filler-y.

* * *

"Why'd I sign up for cooking again?" Dylan grumbled, staring down at the tray of warm, gooey chocolate chip cookies she had just pulled out of the oven.

"Because you like food?" Kristen offered, scraping excess cookie dough off the side of the metal bowl with her finger and licking it off.

"Yeah, but I hate what it does to my figure."

"One cookie is nawt going to kill you." Kristen picked a cookie up and waved it temptingly in front of her friend. A grin spreading across her face, Dylan grabbed it and took a big bite out of it.

"Yum," she burped, and Kristen flicked a glob of cookie dough at her.

"Food fight!" Derrick cheered from behind them, and Dylan and Kristen both turned around to face him.

"What are you doing here, Harrington?" Kristen narrowed her blue-green eyes at him. "You're nawt in this class."

"A mere technicality." Derrick shrugged.

"What did you do, tell your teacher you were going to the bathroom and come down here instead?" Dylan asked.

"Guilty as charged." Derrick grinned, holding up a hall pass. "But I just _had_ to see you," he added. Dylan giggled and rolled her eyes.

"Actually," Derrick continued, "the real reason I came over here is that I heard you girls were baking chocolate chip cookies today."

"Take one if you want one so bad," Kristen offered. Derrick grinned and shoved one in his mouth.

"Thanks," he said with his mouth full.

"Ewww!" Kristen laughed as a crumb fell out of his mouth and landed on the floor.

"Get back to class," Dylan instructed, swatting him playfully on the butt.

"Yes ma'am!" Derrington saluted before heading back out the door.

As soon as he was gone, Kristen turned to Dylan. "He was _so_ flirting with you."

"You think?" Dylan bit her well-glossed lip. Kristen nodded.

"You should go for him."

"And _you_ should go for Josh," Dylan responded.

"We're just friends," Kristen insisted, but her cheeks flushed a tell-tale shade of pink.

"It didn't look that way last night," Dylan replied slyly.

"Okay, fine, maybe I like him as a little bit more than a friend. But what about Alicia?"

"Puh-lease, they've been broken up for two months now. She's toe-dally over him."

--

"But I'm nawt over him! She can't go out with Josh when I still like him!" Alicia whined.

"I'm just repeating what Dylan told me." Massie shrugged. They were sitting in the back of their American History class, participating in the only Social Studies-related activity they actually enjoyed: discussing Current Events. "And they're nawt going out. Yet. Kristen just admitted that she liked him."

"Well, did you tell Dylan that I still liked him?" Alicia demanded, lowering her voice and glancing around to make sure no one was listening in.

"Of course nawt! Plan B, remember?"

"Right. Are you sure me acting like I don't like Josh is actually going to work?"

Massie sighed. "We've been over this ten times. Remember in Gossip Girl how Blair acted all needy and Nate didn't want her?"

"…Yes."

"And then when Blair had Chuck and made it very clear to Nate she didn't want him anymore, Nate liked her again?"

"I know, Mass, but are you sure we need to be taking advice from a TV show? Especially one that is essentially a soap opera?" Alicia asked worriedly.

"When have I ever led you wrong?" Massie replied.

"That one time you made me miss the Teen People photo shoot, at Lake Placid when you lied and said you had already kissed Derrington, the boy fast in the eighth grade," Alicia listed.

"Okay, I get it, I have led you wrong a _few_ times," Massie interrupted. "But trust me, when it comes to guys, I know what I'm talking about."

"If this doesn't make Josh like me again, it's your fault," Alicia grumbled.

The lunch bell rang, and the girls gathered up their books and headed for the cafeteria, making a quick pit stop at their lockers to dump off their stuff. In typical Massie fashion, the inside of Massie's locker had been wallpapered with reflective royal purple wrapping paper. A mirror had been hung on the inside of the door, and a metal container holding a hairbrush, a single container of Grapefruit Glossip Girl, and a MAC makeup palette had been super-glued on next to it. Massie had just finished touching up her makeup when she caught sight of Claire coming up behind her in her locker mirror. Her eyes, red-rimmed as if from crying, were staring at her shoes, and her white-blonde hair fell forward like a curtain, partially shielding her face from view. If anything, she looked more depressed than she had this morning. Massie caught Alicia's eye, signaling for her to go on to lunch without them. As Alicia strode away down the hall, her bright red Hayden Panettiere bag swinging on her arm and her Jimmy Choos click-clacking on the tiled linoleum, Massie swiveled to face Claire.

"Kuh-laire," she pronounced slowly. "Are you _sure_ there's nothing wrong?"

"I'm fine," Claire insisted, but Massie noted that she was still avoiding direct eye contact. "So," Claire said, changing the subject, "I heard Derrington visited Dylan in cooking class today."

"Why should I care? I've been over him since the eighth grade." Massie shook her head indignantly, her glossy brunette locks catching the light as they sashayed from side to side.

"That's right," Claire agreed. "Who is it you like now? Plovert?"

"He's sweet," Massie replied simply, starting down the hall towards the cafeteria. Claire fell into step beside her.

"That's funny," Claire commented. "I never thought Chris was your type." Massie stopped in her tracks and turned to dead-eye Claire.

"Is he your type Claire? Are you jealous?" Massie asked, her tone even but her amber eyes fierce.

"No, of course nawt!" Claire replied quickly, knowing from experience not to provoke the wrath of Massie.

"Good." Massie stated, and that was the final word on the subject. "Now come awn, we're going to be late to lunch." As Massie turned and continued towards the cafeteria, Claire sighed. For the first time in a long time, she wasn't looking forward to seeing Cam.


	5. Turn Back The Sun

**JSYK: **On Wednesday I start school again, so I'm probably not going to be able to update as often as I'd like. Reviews motivate me to write faster, though! ;)

* * *

When Massie and Claire entered the cafeteria, Claire trailing slightly behind Massie and dragging her feet, everyone else had already gotten their lunches and had taken their seats at their usual table on the far left side of the cafeteria.

"Hey, Mass!" Plovert called as they approached. "Alicia said you were running late, so I went ahead and got you your usual meal." He gestured to the Diet Pepsi and grilled chicken salad sitting on the table. There was even a packet of her favorite dressing on her tray, waiting to be poured over her salad.

"Awwh, thanks Chris," Massie cooed, leaning over and giving a blushing Plovert a quick hug before sitting down next to him. Claire noticed Cam frowning and quickly excused herself to go get her lunch, since, unlike Massie, no one had bothered to get it for her. She wandered over to the pizza station and was contemplating whether to get a slice of the cold cheese pizza or just get a slice of lukewarm pepperoni pizza and pick the pepperonis off when Cam sidled over to her on the pretext of grabbing a few extra napkins.

"Have you talked to her yet?" he asked. Claire found herself growing annoyed at his persistence.

"I tried," she replied flatly. "But you know what? I think Massie really likes Plovert."

Cam cringed at her words, and Claire immediately melted. He was just so effing cute!

"Maybe what you need to do to get Massie's attention," Claire offered, her voice much kinder than it had been previously, "is be seen with another girl." It would kill Claire to see Cam with someone else, but at least she wouldn't have to try to play matchmaker anymore between her best friend and her ex-boyfriend.

"Really? Would you do that for me, Claire?" Cam asked, his one-blue-and-one-green eyes hopeful.

"What? Me?" Claire squeaked.

"Who better?" Cam replied logically. "Everyone knows we're close. And we do kind of have a past."

Claire sighed. "Okay, Cam. I guess you're right."

"Great!" Cam exclaimed, flashing her the kind of winning smile that had made Claire first fall for him. He grabbed her hand and held it as they made their way back to the table, and even though Claire reminded herself it was all an act, her entire arm tingled. It wasn't until they were seated at the table (after Cam had pulled her chair out for her, all gentleman-like) that Claire realized she had completely forgotten about her pizza. Oh well. It wasn't like she had an appetite now, anyway.

--

"So are you and Chris Plovert official yet?" Kristen asked, falling into step beside Massie as everyone filed out of the cafeteria.

"Not yet," Massie replied, her lips turning up into her signature half smile. "Personally I'm more interested in Cam and Claire," she added.

"Did you see them holding hands?" Kristen gushed. "They are so cute together."

"It's weird, though," Massie mused. "Earlier I got the feeling that she didn't want me to go out with Plovert."

"Maybe she likes Plovert, and she's pretending to go out with Cam to make him jealous," Kristen suggested.

"Are you sure Claire would do something like that?" Massie asked.

"Claire can be crafty." Kristen shrugged. "Remember in the seventh grade when she snuck onto your computer and tricked all of us into thinking she was you?"

"How could I forget?" Massie rolled her eyes. "But that was four years ago."

"Still," Kristen replied. "You should keep an eye out. You know, make sure she's nawt trying to steal Plovert."

"Thanks, Kris." Massie smiled at her friend, feeling slightly guilty about not telling her about how Alicia was going to try to steal Josh. _That's between Alicia and Kristen_, Massie told herself firmly. _And besides, Kristen stole Josh first. Alicia is just taking him back. _Her conscience reassured, Massie waved goodbye to Kristen and made her way toward her locker to grab her books for her next class.

--

As he did everyday, Josh gave Alicia a perfunctory greeting before taking his seat in the desk she always saved for him next to her in the back row of the Algebra II/Trig classroom. Atypically Alicia, who was apparently too busy texting on her phone to notice him, didn't respond.

"Hey, Alicia," Josh tried again.

"Oh, hey," Alicia replied breezily, briefly glancing up from her phone to smile at him.

"Who are you texting?" Josh asked curiously.

"Just someone," Alicia replied enigmatically, closing her phone and sliding it into the front pocket of her jeans.

"Okay," Josh replied, feeling slightly confused. Ordinarily if Josh asked Alicia a question, she would immediately launch into a full-length explanation, sharing every last miniscule detail like the gossipy attention whore that she was. Today that didn't seem to be the case.

As Josh was pondering this, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He deftly pulled it out and checked the screen.

**Kristen:** hey :)

Josh glanced at Alicia, who was again too immersed in her texting to pay him any mind. Ordinarily if Josh received a text message, Alicia would crane her neck to see who it was from, ask him why he was texting Kristen, and promptly make a move on another guy in an attempt to make Josh jealous, like the clingy ex-girlfriend that she was. Once again, today that didn't seem to be the case.

Josh was so distracted by Alicia's peculiar actions that he put his phone back up without even thinking to reply to Kristen. Alicia, who had been furtively watching him all along using the mirrored surface of her LG Shine, smiled. Alicia, one. Kristen, zero.


	6. The Night Is Calling

Sorry this chapter is so short! I would've tried to make it longer, but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting for an update any longer than I already have. It's been what? eleven days since I last updated? Sorry about that. School has been keeping me pretty preoccupied.

On another note, who else absolutely adores the new JoBros cd? :)

* * *

"You know," Claire commented as she watched the water droplets weave intricate designs on the tinted window of the Range Rover, "if it was just a few degrees colder, it would be snowing." The freezing rain hadn't let up all day, so when school ended at three o' clock, Isaac was waiting in the parking lot to drive the girls home, as per the arrangements Massie had made that morning.

"Maybe it will get colder overnight and they'll call a snow day tomorrow," Dylan put in hopefully. "No school Friday equals three day weekend, and three day weekend equals par-tay!"

"Heart that!" Alicia cheered, and Massie could practically hear the gears turning in Alicia's head as her mind formulated new plans to steal Josh back. "BTW…where's Kristen?"

"She had practice," Dylan responded matter-of-factly, gathering up her thick red hair and flipping it over her shoulder.

"You mean it wasn't canceled?" Claire asked in surprise, turning away from the window. "They're practicing in this weather?"

"No, Kuh-laire." Massie rolled her coveted amber eyes. "They're having an indoor work out session in the gym."

"The boys too?" Alicia's eyes narrowed at the prospect of Josh and Kristen working out in the gym together.

"The boys are in Gym 2, ahb-viously," Massie reminded her friend.

"Did Plovert tell you that?" Claire guessed.

"No," Massie replied slowly, watching Claire carefully. "Cam told me."

"Oh." Claire fidgeted in her seat, avoiding eye contact. "Did he, um, tell you anything else?"

"Just that you and him were back together."

"Right," Claire replied with a forced smile.

"How come you didn't tell me?" Massie accused.

"It kind of just happened," Claire replied honestly.

"Fine," Massie relented. "But for future reference, when one of my best friends gets a new boyfriend, I'd rather hear about it from her, not someone else." Alicia and Dylan murmured their agreement, and Claire wondered if there was an underlying reason behind Massie's interest in the matter. Did Massie like Cam after all? Claire cringed. She should be relieved, but fake though it was, there was a part of Claire that didn't want her "relationship" with Cam to end so soon.

The rest of the car pool was finished in silence, each girl preoccupied with her own thoughts. Massie and Claire went their separate ways when they arrived at the Block Estate, Claire heading straight to the guest room while Massie retired to her bedroom. The tension between the two girls was so obvious that even Kendra picked up on it.

"Are you and Claire having another one of your spats?" Massie's mother inquired, opening the bedroom door up a crack and poking her head through the doorway.

"No," Massie replied tersely from her desk, swiveling away from her iMac to face Kendra. "Why would you think that?"

"You usually hang out together after school," Kendra replied simply.

"We both had a lot of homework today," Massie lied.

"In that case, I'm glad you girls are finally making your schoolwork a priority." Kendra turned and left the room. Massie rolled her eyes at her mother's retreating back before turning back to her computer to continue her IM convo with Alicia.

**Massiekur:** how did things go w/ josh 2day?  
**HOLLAGUURL: **gr8! i still have a long way 2 go tho  
**Massiekur:** maybe we could have that party dyl was talking about  
**HOLLAGUURL: **r u thinking ? im thinking  
**Massiekur:** ill bring the magnet if you bring the bottle ;)

Massie smiled to herself. That way, she could kill two birds in one stone. Not only could she ensure that Josh kissed Alicia, she could also make sure Claire knew no amount of flirting with Cam would ever make Plovert jealous. What better way to keep a boy's affections than to treat him to a make-out session, courtesy of a little Spin the Bottle?


	7. And We're Falling Faster Now

Finally, finally, finally! This chapter took unecessarily long to write. (Sorry 'bout that. I've kind of been busy... not that that's an excuse.) I'm hoping I'll be able to get the next chapter out a lot quicker. Reviews are the best kind of motivation, you know! :)

* * *

Unfortunately, the temperature didn't drop another two degrees as Dylan and Claire had hoped, and instead of waking up to a blanket of white snow on the cold, hard ground, Massie woke up to the rhythmic pitter-pattering of rain on her window. But just because it had literally rained on her parade didn't mean she was about to let it do so figuratively, too.

"Party at my house this weekend," Massie announced at lunch once everyone had taken their seats.

"Heck yes!" Dylan burped to the assorted eye-rolling and laughter of her friends.

"What time?" Kristen asked, ever the practical one.

"Sunset until sunrise," Kemp suggested, winking at Alicia, who looked away pointedly.

"You know Kristen's parents aren't gonna go for that one," Josh disagreed.

"So?" Kemp challenged.

"I wouldn't want her to miss the party," Josh replied. Kristen beamed while Alicia frowned.

"I was thinking more along the lines of seven p.m. to midnight, anyway," Massie cut in.

"Sounds good to me," Plovert replied.

"I'll definitely be there." Cam grinned, catching Massie's eye. Claire watched nervously for Massie's reaction, knowing from personal experience that the gaze of Cam's one-green-and-one-blue eyes was about as intense as camping. Massie, however, seemed unaffected by it.

"So Saturday, then," Massie concluded, marking the end of the discussion. Under the table she discreetly slid her phone out of the front pocket of her charcoal gray Citizens of Humanity jeans and fired off a text message to the PC.

**Massie: **compulsory shopping trip today after school  
**Alicia: **im in!  
**Dylan: **same :)

Claire frowned as the messages flashed on her cell phone's tiny display. Shopping with the PC always meant maxing out her debit card. She had to admit, however, that at the moment she wasn't exactly in the position to tick Massie off.

**Claire: **ill b there

**Kristen: **i wont. team captain cant exactly skip practice  
**Massie: **fine. but u will b the only 1 without something new 2 wear 2 the party  
**Alicia: **dont worry kris im sure josh wont notice. u no since hes the most fashion conscious of all the boys and all

Kristen bit her lip as she read this latest message and Alicia smiled smugly from her seat across the table. All eyes were on Kristen as the girls waited to see how she'd reply. Meanwhile the boys continued to eat their lunch and discuss sports, completely oblivious to the girls' rapid-fire conversation. In the end, it was Dylan who replied.

**Dylan: **its cool, ill just pick something up 4 her. size 4 rite?  
**Kristen: **right. thnx dyl :)  
**Dylan: **no prob

The girls tucked their phones back into their purses and pockets, Alicia somewhat resignedly, as the lunch bell rang, dismissing them from the cafeteria. Cam walked Claire to her next class like the dutiful boyfriend he was pretending to be.

As they walked, there was an awkward silence between them, and Claire couldn't help remembering something Todd had once said.

"Gay baby," she coughed, causing Cam to look at her quizzically.

"Every awkward silence, a gay baby is born," she explained with a shrug.

"Right," Cam replied distractedly instead of laughing like Claire had hoped.

She sighed. "Look… If you're thinking about Massie and Plovert, don't worry about it, okay? There isn't a better guy out there than you, and if Massie can't see that, she's blind," she told him as they reached Claire's next class.

"Thanks, Claire," Cam replied, smiling weakly. "You're a great friend."

"Yeah," Claire echoed glumly as Cam walked off to his own class. "Friend."

--

"Ehmagawd Massie, that dress looks even more ah-mazing on you than it does on the hanger," Alicia gushed as Massie twirled for them in the large mirrored dressing room at Macy's. The dress in question was a mauve jersey dress by Splendid with short, poofy sleeves.

"I'm thinking chunky black belt and black tights," Massie said as she turned from side to side, checking her reflection out from every angle. "Shoes?"

"Pumps," Dylan suggested. "Maybe those cute Kate Spade ones you own?"

"Heart that," Massie agreed, plugging the suggestion into her palm pilot.

Claire stood off to the side, observing but refraining from making any comments other than "cute" or "nice" for fear of making an embarrassing fashion faux pas.

"Hey Claire," Dylan said suddenly, startling the blonde. "Wanna help me pick something out for Kristen? Since Alicia and Massie are still trying stuff on and all," she added upon seeing Claire's incredulous look. Claire wasn't typically the member of the Pretty Committee anyone went to for fashion advice. Even though she'd lived in Westchester for almost four years now and had for the most part assimilated into its culture, Claire still didn't quite have Massie's style or Kristen's knowledge of designers.

Claire nodded and followed Dylan out into the store's spacious showroom. Dylan wandered over to one of the racks and began absent-mindedly sifting through its contents.

"What was up with Alicia at lunch today?" Dylan wondered as she fingered the plush fabric of a cashmere sweater. _Of course_, Claire realized. _I should have known she wanted my opinion on something other than clothes_.

"What do you mean?" Claire hedged, knowing that with her friends it was sometimes best to play the neutral card.

"She was kind of being unnecessarily titchy to Kristen, don't you think?"

"I guess," Claire allowed.

"Do you think it has to do with Josh?" Dylan asked.

"Either him or TOM," Claire replied, fighting to keep a straight face.

"Tom?" Dylan asked, wrinkling her button nose in confusion.

"Time of month?"

"Ohhh." Dylan laughed. "Yeah, that's what Massie told Kristen yesterday. But I don't believe it."

"Believe what?" Claire and Dylan abruptly turned around, coming face-to-face with a curious looking Alicia.

"The prices on these sweaters," Dylan lied smoothly. "Even Kuh-laire could afford one," she added, subtly elbowing her in the back. Claire frowned at the jab but played along.

"Yeah—think it's cute enough for the party?" Claire asked, pulling a gray turtle neck sweater off the rack.

"By itself? Opposite of yes," Alicia replied, shaking her head. Dylan heaved a sigh of relief. "But I think I saw a navy Splendid jumper that would look ah-dorable with it."

"Thanks," Claire muttered, walking off in the direction Alicia had indicated. Dylan definitely owed her for this.


	8. Every Last Word

Updating, finally. :)

* * *

Claire peered through her bedroom window, frowning as yet another car pulled into the Block's circular driveway. A cluster of teenage girls piled out of the Cadillac escalade and padded across the spacious back yard in their fur-lined Uggs to where a bonfire had been started. Benches and whicker loveseats had been scattered around the fire pit, each haphazardly laden with cushions, velvet throw pillows, and woolen blankets. A heated buffet table containing hot chocolate, coffee, fresh brownies, and gooey chocolate chip cookies was in keeping with the "Things That Keep You Warm" theme, as were the kissing games Massie had planned for the evening.

"How many people did Massie invite to this party anyway?" Claire grumbled, turning away from the window and examining her reflection in her floor length mirror. As Alicia had suggested, she had layered a navy jumper over the gray turtle neck sweater. Underneath the jumper she had on a worn pair of no-name skinny jeans and on her feet she wore the last season metallic silver flats she had gotten at TJ Maxx while sale hunting with Kristen over the summer. Her white blonde hair had been pulled back into a glossy high pony and her eye make-up was smoky. By Massie standards, she was an 8.5 at the least.

"Judging by the number of people who have changed their facebook status to 'block party,' our school's entire A-list, with a few B-listers thrown in for good measure," Layne Abeley quipped from her seat at Claire's computer. ("Block Party" was the nickname Massie's "exclusive" blowouts had earned at the beginning of ninth grade when the number of crashers had surpassed the number on the guest list at one such party.)

"And you," Claire added.

"And me," Layne agreed. Despite being almost instantly accepted freshman year by the junior and senior girls because  
a) her older brother was the much sought after Chris Abeley  
b) they thought her "alternative" style was fashion-forward, and  
c) the protests she was always staging looked good on college applications,  
Layne had never been too interested in following the rules of high school social hierarchy and chose to hang out with whoever she wished, A-listers and LBRs alike. Of course, even Massie had to grudgingly admit that this apathy towards her popularity status just made her all the more cool, and thus Layne scored invites to all of her parties.

"I guess I kind of figured it was just going to be the PC and the boys," Claire admitted, tucking a loose blonde hair behind her ear.

"In Massie world, I'm pretty sure ten people hanging out on a Saturday night hardly qualifies as a party," Layne scoffed.

"You're probably right," Claire agreed.

"I usually am," Layne shrugged. She stood up from her chair, straightening the plaid mini skirt she was wearing over mustard yellow tights. "So do you wanna head on down to the party?"

"Yeah, let's go." Claire grabbed her outdated pink razr off of her bedside table and let Layne lead the way out the bedroom door, down the stairs, and out into the frigid air.

"Claire! Over here!" Massie called, beckoning to her from where she sat cross-legged on a picnic blanket in between Josh Hotz and Chris Plovert.

"You want me to come with you?" Layne asked, looking at her questioningly.

"No, it's fine." Claire shook her head, attempting a smile. "You go have fun." Layne shrugged and made her way over to the bonfire where some guys from the lacrosse team had started roasting marshmallows. She immediately joined in, putting three marshmallows on her stick at once and catching them all on fire, and then laughing as she and a particularly cute looking sandy-haired boy tried to blow them out at the same time. Not for the first time, Claire wished she was as confident and at-ease with herself as her best friend. Promising herself she would work on it, Claire made her way through the crowd to where the boys and the PC sat.

"We were just about to play Spin the Bottle," Massie explained, as if it hadn't already been made obvious by the fact that they were sitting in a circle around an old school coke bottle, the kind with the metal cap. "Care to join?"

Knowing she didn't really have a choice either way, Claire nodded and took the empty blanket space in between Cam and Alicia. Alicia had her phone out in her lap, her thumbs moving furiously across the keypad.

**Alicia: **got the magnet?  
**Massie: **in my LV clutch ;)

Massie smiled to herself and closed her phone, placing it gently on the blanket beside her.

"Who's first?" she asked, looking around at the group.

"I'll go!" Kemp declared, leaning forward and giving the bottle an eager spin. Massie discreetly slid her clutch behind Josh and the magnet inside it caused the bottle's metal cap to point to him.

"Sorry, man, but I'm not into boys," Josh laughed.

"No kissing for you, Kemp. Maybe you need to work on your spin." Massie smirked.

"Hey, Mass, got any mints?" Alicia spoke up.

"I think there's some in my bag. Here," Massie replied, retrieving the clutch from where it sat behind Josh and passing it to Alicia. "Your turn to spin, Josh."

Josh leaned forward and gave the bottle a quick spin. Kristen frowned when it landed on Alicia.

"You don't have to kiss her, you know. Not if you don't want to," Kristen spoke up quickly.

"It's not like he hasn't kissed me before," Alicia reminded her. Kristen scowled.

Josh gave Kristen an apologetic shrug and leaned in for a quick peck. Alicia wasn't about to settle for just a peck, however, and grabbed Josh's head with both hands, holding him there. Josh responded enthusiastically, and it wasn't until Derrick and Kemp began whooping delightedly that they remembered themselves and pulled away.

"Here's your bag back, Mass," Alicia said breathlessly, tossing the clutch back to its owner.

"What, no here's your crush back, Kristen?" the sporty blonde muttered under her breath. Alicia opened her mouth to respond but Massie cut her off.

"Your turn to spin, Alicia." The raven-hair girl nodded and gave the bottle a quick spin. Thanks to the magnet hidden in her clutch, it, of course, landed on Massie.

"Let's see some girl-on-girl!" Kemp cheered. Massie rolled her eyes.

"How about let's not," she shot back, discreetly pushing her clutch towards Plovert.

Just as Massie was leaning forward to spin the bottle, two junior girls approached.

"Do any of you girls have any Ps or Ts?" The taller of the two asked.

"Yeah, in my bag," Massie offered. The girl who spoke picked up the clutch and the two headed off in the direction of the nearest bathroom. "Wait!" Massie called after them, but they were already out of earshot. Alicia caught Massie's eye and mouthed 'what now?' Massie shrugged.

"So are you gonna spin or what?" Derrick asked.

"Of course," Massie replied confidently. Squeezing her eyes closed, she gave the empty coke bottle a hard spin.


	9. Every Single Thing You Say

I'm supposed to be writing four essays for history class about Jacksonian America right now. So of course instead I wrote a new PMA chapter. Enjoy! :)

* * *

Massie Block was not one to leave anything up to fate. But as the bottle spun round and round, she found herself praying to Gawd that it landed with its metal cap pointing towards Chris Plovert. After several three hundred and sixty degree rotations, however, it wasn't Plovert the bottle landed on, but Claire. Kemp sighed in disappointment.

"For a kissing game, there isn't much kissing going on," he grumbled.

Massie chose to ignore Kemp. On the inside however, she was heaving a huge sigh of relief. She wouldn't have to kiss anybody, at least not this time. Hopefully she wouldn't have to spin again until those girls returned with the clutch containing the magnet, allowing her to ensure the bottle landed on Chris.

"Your turn to spin, Claire," Massie prompted in a bored tone. Biting her bottom lip nervously, Claire did as instructed and leaned forward to give the glass coke bottle a tentative spin. When it landed, there was a collective gasp from the PC girls.

"You can NAWT kiss Chris," Massie hissed.

"Hate to break it to you Block, but you're the one who wanted to play this dumb game," Derrick pointed out. "And the rule is that you have to kiss who the bottle lands on. Whoever it lands on."

"Derrick's right," Cam agreed.

Instead of refuting Derrick's logic, Massie turned to Cam. "If Claire's your girlfriend, why are you so eager for her to kiss another guy?" she asked icily.

"I'm not," Cam replied quickly.

"Oh yeah?" Massie asked. "Then why-"

"CAN SOMEONE JUST KISS SOMEONE ALREADY?" Kemp interrupted.

"Sure thing, man," Cam replied before leaning in and brushing his lips against Massie's.

Plovert let out a stream of cuss words under his breath as Alicia, Dylan, and Kristen screeched "Ehmagawd!" in unison. Derrick let out a low whistle while Josh blinked in surprise. Kemp, for once, was speechless.

Blinking away tears, Claire stood up. "Scuse me," she managed before turning and running off into the darkness. As she ran, she let the tears run freely, mascara and eyeliner streaking down her face—the makeup she had carefully applied only a few hours earlier in one last subconscious attempt to make Cam choose her over Massie now as ruined as her chances of that ever actually happening. She kept on running until she had reached the Blocks' tennis courts and collapsed onto one of the benches.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," Claire muttered, chiding herself for being upset. "I knew Cam liked Massie. So why do I feel so betrayed?"

"It always hurts to see the guy you like kiss someone else," came a voice from behind her. Startled, Claire turned around to see who it was who had spoken.

"Oh. Hey Kristen," she mumbled.

"Are you okay, Claire?" Kristen asked, sitting down on the bench next to her. "Sorry, that was a dumb question."

"It's okay," Claire smiled through her tears. "What about you?"

"What do you mean?" Kristen asked, confused.

"You know—the thing with Josh and Alicia?"

"Oh. That. Well, to be completely honest, it's kind of my own fault. Deep down, I guess I knew Alicia still had feelings for Josh," Kristen admitted. "The real question here is whether Josh still has feelings for me."

Claire said nothing in reply, and the two girls sat in silence, each contemplating their own mangled love life.

"Hey, do you think you're up to heading on back to the party now?" Kristen spoke up after a few moments.

"Actually, I think I'm just going to go up to my house. But you have fun."

"Okay," Kristen said, and with one last look at Claire, she began walking back in the direction of the bonfire.

"Oh, and Kristen?" Claire called after her.

"Yeah?" she asked, stopping and turning back around.

"Thanks."

Kristen grinned. "Us blondes have to stick together, right?"

"Right," Claire replied with a matching grin.

Smiling to herself, Kristen made her way back to the party. From the look of things, the game of Spin the Bottle had broken up not long after she left. Massie and Alicia sat on a loveseat with their heads together, whispering urgently. Kemp was with Plovert, trying to calm him down. Josh and Cam were nowhere to be seen.

"What'd I miss?" Kristen asked, approaching Dylan and Derrick, the only ones left sitting on the picnic blanket.

"After Cam pulled away, Plovert jumped on Cam," Dylan began.

"I didn't know he had it in him," Derrick laughed.

"And Kemp literally had to pull Plovert off of Cam. Cam had a black eye and his nose was probably broken, but he didn't try to defend himself at all," Dylan finished.

"What did Massie say about all this?" Kristen asked, intrigued.

"Nothing. She just sat there, completely stunned," Dylan answered. "The only time she opened her mouth was to tell Josh to take Cam and get him to Inez so he could be cleaned up. And then she and Alicia went off by themselves."

"Wow," Kristen said.

"Wow is right," Derrick agreed.

"So what are you two doing now?" Kristen asked.

"Playing Spin the Bottle," Dylan answered, grinning mischievously.

"Just the two of you?" Kristen asked.

"Yup," Derrick answered, reaching forward and spinning the bottle. "Oh, looks like I get to kiss Dylan again." Dylan giggled, and Kristen left, giving the pair some privacy.

At least one couple survived this ill-fated party.


	10. TryToStopMeNowButIt'sAlreadyTooLate

That's right, PMA is BACK!

I realize I haven't actually updated this story in eight months and you guys have probably forgotten all about it. To be honest, I'd kind of let myself forget about it too. But the other day I was feeling kind of nostalgic and I was rereading my old stories when I decided that I just couldn't leave this one unfinished. So without further ado, here is the (long overdue) tenth chapter. :)

* * *

"Way to supply me with misinformation," Massie snapped into her phone. The party had finally wound down after midnight, and once all the guests had gone home, Massie had locked herself in her spacious bathroom with the latest _Lucky_ magazine to take a soothing bubble bath. Upon emerging she had quickly dialed Kristen's number, not caring how late it was or whether her friend had already gone to sleep.

"What are you talking about?" Kristen yawned.

"You told me Claire was going out with Cam to make Chris jealous," Massie reminded her sharply.

"No, I only told you it was a possibility," Kristen replied calmly. "At any rate, I was partially right; it was just Cam who was trying to make someone jealous and not Claire."

"There is no 'partially' right," Massie retorted. "You're either right or wrong, and in this case you were way wrong."

"Look, Mass, I realize you were caught off guard by Cam kissing you, and I've been friends with you long enough to know how you hate being caught off guard, but that is absolutely no reason to go all anal teacher on me."

Massie's jaw dropped in shock, and she was just about to deliver one of her patented disses when Kristen continued, cutting her off.

"Besides, you have no right to be mad at me. At least I tried to warn you about Claire possibly liking Plovert. You didn't say a thing to me about Alicia's plans to steal Josh back."

"It's not stealing when Alicia liked him first," Massie pointed out.

"I figured she had moved on by now, since Josh had," Kristen retorted.

"Are you sure about that Kristen? It sure didn't look that way when they were glued together at the mouth."

"And it didn't look like _you_ liked Chris when _you_ were kissing Cam," Kristen replied dryly. "Look, this was a fun conversation and all, but I gotta go before my mom catches me on the phone. Bye."

Massie slowly lowered her phone from her ear, frowning. _No one_ hung up on Massie Block. While she was contemplating a proper form of punishment (Expulsion from the P.C.? Too harsh. "Accidentally" dumping her food on Kristen's head at lunch? Too juvenile), her mind began to wander, her thoughts drifting back to earlier that evening. When Cam had kissed her, she had been so shocked she hadn't known what to think. One moment they had been arguing and the next moment his lips were on hers--soft, warm, and tasting faintly of cherry flavored chapstick. She hadn't known whether to kiss him back or push him away. Instead she just sat there, frozen in place, until the moment when Cam finally pulled away, his eyes focused intently on hers, searching for happiness, anger--any kind of response at all. But for once in Massie's life, she had no response. No clever comeback, no plan of action already formulated in her head. Nothing. It wasn't until after Plovert attacked Cam that Massie snapped out of it. How _dare_ Cam Fisher kiss her! How dare he try to screw up her budding relationship with Chris Plovert! How dare he use Claire like that, especially when, judging by the way she ran off in tears, she still had feelings for him! And how dare he be such an incredibly good kisser! By the time Kemp had managed to pull Plovert off of Cam, Massie was seething. It had taken all of her willpower and restraint to calmly ask Josh to take Cam to Inez to get cleaned up. Once they left, Massie finally turned to look at Chris. His hair was disheveled, his hands were still curled up into tight fists, and his entire body was shaking, but despite how obviously upset he still was, he was looking at her expectantly, hopefully. The obvious trust and faith he had in her was too much for her to handle while traitorous thoughts of how nice Cam's lips had felt on hers were still floating around in her head, so she made an apologetic face at him and grabbed Alicia's hand and dragged her away to try and straighten out her thoughts.

"Ehmagawd!" Alicia exclaimed once they were out of earshot.

"I know," Massie agreed.

"What the EFF just happened?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Massie commented dryly, taking a seat on one of the whicker love seats surrounding the bonfire.

"Wow. So Cam, like, likes you," Alicia surmised, sitting down beside Massie. "So why was he going out with Claire?"

"I guess just to try and make me jealous," Massie replied.

"Poor Claire," Alicia sighed, her voice sympathetic.

"Yeah," Massie agreed remorsefully, thinking guiltily of how she had treated Claire the past week. Claire hadn't been trying to talk Massie out of dating Chris because she'd wanted him for herself, she'd been doing it because Cam had asked her to and she was too good of a friend to say no.

"Wait--so Cam AND Plovert like you now? Gawd you're lucky, Mass! I still don't even know if Josh likes me!"

"Alicia, can you please try to not make this about yourself for once?" Massie replied sharply, frustration evident on her face.

"Sorry," Alicia apologized quickly. "Seriously, though, which one of them are you going to choose?"

"Chris, of course!" Massie answered indignantly. "Cam is a jerk!"

"Oookay."

"He is! He had no right to kiss me," Massie argued fervently.

"Well, I mean, it's not like you and Chris were official yet--"

"Cam and Claire were," Massie interrupted.

"Point. But you're the one who said he was dating her to make you jealous. Maybe it was a fake relationship," Alicia replied logically.

"It doesn't matter what kind of relationship it was, Leesh! You can't just go around and kissing people without their permission!" Massie exclaimed.

"If you didn't want him to kiss you then why didn't you just push him off of you?"

"He caught me off guard, okay? Look, I have to go play hostess and mingle with the other party guests. I'll talk to you later." Pasting a smile onto her face, Massie got up and walked over to a nearby cluster of juniors. As she cheerfully greeted her guests, she glanced at Plovert out of the corner of her eye. His body had finally stopped shaking and his fists had uncurled, but he still looked pretty upset. He was talking to Kemp, but he was watching her. Massie looked away, sighing inwardly. Monday was going to be fun.


	11. IfYouReallyDon'tCareThenSayItToMyFace

I just got the new Jonas Brothers cd & I'm already completely in love with it! (Okay, maybe not _Don't Charge Me For The Crime_..that song's kinda iffy. Then again, its feat Common and rap's never really been JB's thing.) I find it really weird that I started writing this story before their last cd came out and now their new cd has come out and I'm still writing this story. Man, it's been awhile.

& while we're on the subject of things that are ironic. I also find it really funny that I orginally made this story Dylington because it was a crack!pairing and I thought they would be cute together and now it's 100% canon. Well, at least they're still cute. :)

* * *

When Monday morning dawned bright and sunny, worrying about being considered lame for having a driver drop her off at school seemed silly compared to her current problems, and so as she straightened after fastening the straps of the plum colored Mary Janes on her black stockinged feet and smoothed the skirt of the lavender shift dress she had paired with a classic black cardigan and a long strand of pearls knotted just under her bust that picked up the sheen of her shoes, Massie decided to nix the walking only policy and reinstate the carpool. She fired off a text message to her friends to alert them to the change of plans (wording it carefully to make it sound like walking had been a poorly thought out group decision and not her own dumb idea) and glanced one last time in the mirror to make sure the giant black bow on the headband holding her curls in place was positioned exactly right before heading downstairs to nicely ask Isaac to resume driving her and her friends to school.

Ten minutes later Massie and Claire had both taken their seats in the Range Rover and were sitting in awkward silence as Isaac pulled out of the Blocks' long driveway and onto the road. They hadn't spoken to each other since the ill-fated party and the tension in the air was enough to make even the spacious interior of the luxury vehicle feel claustrophobic.

"I don't want to fight, Massie," Claire said finally, breaking the silence. "If you want Cam, you can have him."

"Kuh-laire. I don't want him," Massie replied firmly. "Cam's a jerk. He led you on and used you to get to me. Not to mention how he totally stabbed Chris in the back. I don't want him, and you shouldn't either."

"I know," Claire sighed. "I'm trying to get over him." Massie sighed too.

"I'm sorry. That was kind of harsh. The past couple days can't have been easy for you," Massie told her, frowning sympathetically.

"It's not your fault, Mass," Claire replied with a sad smile. "You didn't ask Cam to like you."

"No. I didn't. But once he sees how absolutely uninterested I am in him, maybe he'll give up on me. And maybe he'll start liking you again," Massie suggested. Claire instantly perked up.

"You really think so?" she asked hopefully.

"I know so," Massie told her assuredly.

Just then Isaac pulled up in front of the Rivera mansion, signaling the time to end their heart-to-heart. Alicia pushed open the heavy oak doors of her house and stepped out into the frigid air in ultra dark wash True Religions tucked into equestrian-style knee-high leather boots. Despite the fact that she had on nothing except a cropped tweed blazer over her crisp white button down, Alicia took her own sweet time on her way to the Range Rover, moving slowly like she always did because she was "worth the wait."

"Hi Mass! Hi Claire!" Alicia said brightly when she finally reached the car and gracefully climbed in.

"Someone's in a good mood," Massie noted. She glanced at Claire to make sure she wasn't paying attention before discreetly pulling out her phone and texting Alicia for details.

**Massie: **did u talk to josh?  
**Alicia: **no. im trying not 2 b needy & desperate remember?  
**Alicia: **did u talk to plovert?  
**Massie: **not yet  
**Alicia: **mass! its been 2 days  
**Massie: **i know im going to talk to him today  
**Alicia:** you better b4 he starts thinking youve moved on  
**Massie: **i do NAWT like cam  
**Alicia: **never said you did

Massie rolled her eyes and slid her phone back into her oversize Coach tote, ending the conversation. The rest of the carpool went by without incident. After she was picked up, Dylan immediately launched into an animated conversation about how ah-dorable Derrick was that lasted the rest of the way to the school. When Kristen entered the car she smiled briefly at Claire but pointedly ignored Massie and Alicia, preferring instead to focus her attention on the Sudoku puzzle in the magazine on her lap.

When Isaac pulled up in front of Westchester High School, Kristen took one look at Alicia before jumping out of the car and speed walking towards the main building.

"Ehmagawd!" Alicia turned to Massie, her voice low and urgent. "She's trying to beat me to Josh!" Dylan, who had overheard this statement, laughed.

"It's not like it's that hard to do," she pointed out in an amused tone.

"I'll show her!" Alicia lengthened her strides, picking up her pace so that she was moving at a brisk walk.

"Wow, I don't think I've ever seen her move that fast," Claire commented as they watched Alicia attempt to catch up to Kristen. Kristen glanced over her shoulder, and, upon seeing Alicia gaining on her, started jogging, her stick straight dirty blonde hair streaming out behind her and her gym bag bouncing against her back. Alicia broke out into a run in response, and before long the two were sprinting neck-and-neck to the courtyard.

"Now _that's_ the fastest I've ever seen Alicia move," Massie laughed. "Those two are pathetic."

"We can't all have two boys fighting over us," Dylan reminded her.

"It's a tough life, but someone's gotta live it!"

When, Massie, Claire, and Dylan arrived at the courtyard picnic tables, Alicia and Kristen were already there, sweaty and panting for air, but the boys had yet to show up.

"Looks like you both lose!" Massie announced. "Josh isn't even here yet. Now do yourselves a favor and fix your hair, or else he isn't going to want anything to do with either of you."

"Point," Alicia agreed, pulling a brush out of her bag and running it through her thick, silky black hair. Kristen rolled her eyes but followed Massie's advice as well.

"Now you're presentable," Massie told them approvingly.

The doors to the courtyard creaked open, and all five girls' heads turned simultaneously.

The boys had arrived.


	12. Stop, Tell Me The Truth

this chapter is dedicated to haritha, my 100th reviewer!  
& as for everyone else, your reviews have been absolutely fantastic. keep 'em coming! :)

* * *

Derrick led the group, as usual. Plovert walked beside him, and Kemp and Josh followed right behind them. Cam trailed slightly behind, his nose fixed but his eye still bruised and slightly swollen. Claire sighed. Cam made even black eyes look good.

"Hello, ladies," Derrick greeted the girls, taking a seat on the bench beside Dylan. He reached over with one hand to brush a stray curl out of her face, his finger tips lingering on her cheek and causing her to blush so much that her face matched her hair.

"Hey," Dylan giggled in reply, unable to contain her smile. Their fingers found each other and wove together easily, almost effortlessly.

The rest of the boys stood awkwardly where they were, seeming unsure of how to proceed.

Massie stood up, her infamous amber eyes sliding over each of the boys--Josh, who was looking earnestly in Kristen's direction, ostensibly trying to catch her eye; Kemp, who texting on his phone, presumably with one of the girls whose phone numbers he had snagged at Saturday night's party; and Chris, who was gazing back at her, still wearing that annoyingly hopeful look on his face--before landing on Cam.

"I see your eye is still black," she sneered, hoping to wipe the smug smile off his face, but if anything, her comment just made him smile wider.

"It's a badge of honor," Cam replied calmly. "Today when people ask me how I got it I can tell them I kissed Massie Block." Plovert scowled, and Kemp placed a restraining hand on his arm, shooting a shut-the-eff-up glare at Cam.

"Just make sure when you tell them that story that you don't leave out this part," Massie replied coolly. She walked up to Chris, and, throwing her arms around his neck, kissed him right there in the middle of the courtyard, doing her best to ignore the facts that his lips were slightly chapped and nowhere near as experienced as Cam's and that half the student body was staring at them as they walked by, some even taking out camera phones and snapping pictures as if they were on Gossip Girl and Serena and Dan were back together for the sixth time.

The bell rang and Massie pulled away, her eyes never once leaving Plovert's.

"Walk me to class?" she asked sweetly, and Chris nodded eagerly. The pair departed together, Massie shooting one last contemptuous smirk over her shoulder at Cam.

Cam stood there motionlessly, staring blankly after the retreating couple, before noticing that everyone was watching him, waiting for his reaction.

"I got to get to class," he said shortly, leaving out the same doors Massie and Plovert and just exited from. Claire hurried after him.

"Are you okay?" she asked, falling into step beside him.

"Aside from the fact that the image of Massie kissing _him_ is permanently burned into my brain, sure," he replied with a grimace. Claire decided it would be best to refrain from telling him that the image of him kissing Massie had been haunting her own brain all weekend.

"Look, I know it hurts, but Massie really likes him, so maybe you should--"

Cam laughed derisively, cutting Claire off.

"Massie does NOT like Plovert."

"Right, because Massie kisses boys she doesn't like," Claire replied exasperatedly.

"She kissed me," Cam pointed out.

"You kissed her," Claire corrected.

"Just give me a few days, alright? If Massie's the girl I think she is, she'll realize that Chris Plovert is not the kind of guy who can make her happy."

"And what if she doesn't?" Claire questioned.

"Then she's not the girl I think she is," Cam replied simply. Lifting up his palm in a quick wave goodbye, Cam split off from Claire and walked into his first period chemistry class, leaving her all alone in the now-vacant hallway, hoping against hope that Cam was wrong about Massie Block.

--

After Claire chased after Cam, the rest of the loitering teenagers seemed to realize that the warning bell applied to them, too, and they gathered their things together so they could depart for their various first period classes. Kristen was the first out the door, as she didn't want to be late for her AP American History class.

"Kristen, wait up," Josh called after the blonde, and she stopped and stood patiently waiting for him to catch up. Once the dark-haired, Polo-clad boy fell into step beside her, Kristen turned at smirked at Alicia over her shoulder. Alicia responded by sticking her tongue out.

"Very mature," Kristen mouthed, before turning back around and focusing her attention entirely on the person beside her. "What's up, Josh?"

"You're not mad at me or anything, are you?" he asked earnestly.

"No, of course not. Why would I be?" Kristen lied.

"I dunno, you seemed like you were kind of upset at Massie's party." Josh frowned.

"I think everyone was upset at that party," Kristen joked. Josh gave a small smile.

"So you're not mad about me kissing Alicia?" he probed. By this point they had stopped walking, and were just standing there, facing each other, at the hallway intersection where they would have to eventually go their separate ways.

"No. I mean, it was just a game, right?" Kristen looked at Josh, watching to see if his facial expression would change and give him away.

"Yeah, just a game," Josh echoed, a faraway look in his eyes. Kristen frowned.

"Um, it's too bad that game ended before I got a turn," Kristen said quickly, jerking Josh back to reality.

"Oh no, it's a good thing you didn't get a turn," Josh argued, shaking his head. Kristen's frown deepened.

"I would've hated for you to land on someone else," he clarified, flashing a movie star grin. "See you later," he called, heading off towards his classroom.

"Yeah, later," Kristen echoed, with a grin to match his. Once Josh was out of earshot, her grin melted into a smirk. "Take that, Alicia Rivera."


	13. Cause I'm So Confused

If there aren't any updates from me for a while, it's because I'm going to be out of town from June 30th until July 11th. I'm gonna try to update this story again before then, but I thought I'd let you know anyway just in case I didn't.

* * *

"So, do you, uh, really like me?" Chris asked, or rather, mumbled, as he fiddled with the combination on the locker beside Massie's. Massie stopped rummaging through her things and turned around to face him.

"Of course I do," she replied, putting on her very best Why-wouldn't-I? voice. "How could you possibly think otherwise?"

"Well, you kind of avoided me after that Spin the Bottle incident, and then we never hung out or talked the rest of the weekend, and--"

"Chris," Massie interrupted. "Did I not just kiss you in front of all of our friends? And, might I add, a few dozen of our classmates?"

"Yeah, but I figured that was more for Cam's benefit than for mine," Plovert mumbled, staring down at his sneaker-clad feet.

"Okay, I will admit that Cam seriously needed to be put in his place," Massie laughed. "But if I had only been out for revenge, don't you think it would've been easier for me to just make out with Kemp?"

Chris laughed, too.

"I guess you have a point there."

"So yes, Chris Plovert, to answer your question, I really do like you," Massie said, smiling up at him.

"Enough to want to be my girlfriend?" he asked in reply, his entire face lighting up.

"I thought you'd never ask."

As Massie's new boyfriend, Chris felt obligated to walk Massie to her first period class, even though it was on the complete opposite side of the school from his class. Though Massie usually loved when people went out of their way for her, this particular instance only annoyed her. If she wanted someone to follow her around at school, she'd bring Bean.

After hugging goodbye, Massie sauntered confidently into her classroom and Plovert rushed back across the school to his first period chemistry class. He entered the classroom just as the bell rang, his hair disheveled and slightly sweaty but his smile wide enough to rival Demi Lovato's. After receiving a stern look from his chemistry teacher, Chris quickly took a seat at an otherwise vacant lab table; his usual lab partner, Danny Robbins, was home sick with food poisoning. Due to Layne missing class for an Environmentalist Club field trip, Claire was also left partner-less, which is how she found herself making awkward conversation with her newly appointed lab partner Chris Plovert.

"So...you and Massie official now?" Claire asked for lack of anything better to say. She already knew the answer; Massie had fired off a text message informing the girls of her new relationship status immediately after Chris had asked her out.

"Yup," Plovert confirmed, excitement gleaming in his blue eyes. Hidden by glasses until he got contacts at the start of ninth grade, Chris Plovert's eyes had never really been a feature Claire had ever noticed. Now she saw that they were an impossibly bright, sapphire blue, and framed with the kind of thick, dark lashes that most girls killed for. The femininity of his eyes were balanced out by a strong square jaw and a broad, muscular build. All-in-all, Plovert was quite the attractive guy. Claire shouldn't have been surprised, because Massie had always had excellent taste in guys, but she had always been so focused on Cam that she hadn't really ever paid much attention to any other boys.

"Hello, earth to Claire," Plovert joked, waving a hand in front of her face.

"Oh, sorry," Claire blurted, quickly looking away. "I must have dazed off for a second there. Guess I'm not fully awake yet," she babbled, embarrassed to have been caught staring.

"I know the feeling," Chris replied, smiling kindly.

"Um, we better get started on our lab experiment," Claire said, gesturing towards the instructions printed neatly on the white board at the front of the class room.

"Kay," Plovert replied, setting off to get the supplies they needed. The experiment they were performing was pretty simple: using five known substances, determine the identity of the unknown substance. Plovert and Claire breezed through it easily and were the first set of partners to finish.

"Who knew you were such a good lab partner?" Plovert teased as they stood at the sink, washing out their test tubes.

"I guess we just have good chemistry," Claire joked in reply. Plovert rolled his eyes at her corny humor but laughed all the same. "Seriously, though," she added, "I had a lot of fun."

"Me too." Plovert smiled. "We might have to be lab partners more often."

"Oh, but what about Danny and Layne?" Claire asked, feeling suddenly guilty for getting along so well with her best friend's boyfriend.

"Danny has always had a thing for Layne," Plovert pointed out. Claire laughed, her guilty feelings already forgotten.

"Well if that's the case, then we simply have to let them partner up without us," she reasoned.

"Exactly." Plovert winked.

When the bell rang and Claire and Plovert walked out of the classroom together, laughing at something one of them had said, Cam was in the hallway waiting for them. Plovert scowled at Cam and quickly brushed by him, leaving Claire alone with him.

"Hey Claire, do you think you could--"

"If it has to do with you getting Massie, I'm not doing it," Claire interrupted. "She's a girl, not a prize."

"I know that," Cam replied earnestly. He stepped closer to Claire, putting a soothing hand on her arm. "It's not about the competition, I promise. I really do like Massie. And it's okay if you don't understand why I'm trying so hard to win her over. You've never had to watch the person you like like someone else." Claire yanked her arm away.

"Actually, yes, I have. Now if you excuse me, I have to get to class." With that Claire walked off and didn't look back, and for once, Cam was the one left standing alone in the hallway.


	14. Spinning Around

Anyone read Boys R Us yet? I mean, first Dylington, and now Block Party? What is this? Lisi, do you have a secret FF account you're not telling us about or something?

All weird parallels between PMA and the latest Clique books aside, all of your reviews have been absolutely fantastic! I know it's been over a month since I've updated this last and I'm sorry about that, but I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you've enjoyed the last few! :)

* * *

Lunch that day was a tense affair. Half the table wasn't on speaking terms with the other half, and the little conversation that did occur took place in hushed tones.

"Ehmagawd!" Alicia whispered urgently in Massie's ear. "Look at them!"

Massie turned away from Plovert, whose hand she had been holding possessively since he arrived with their trays, to study the opposite side of the table, where Kristen sat with Josh. The dirty blonde's head was tipped back with laughter at something the notorious Yankees fan had said, and her hand was rested lightly on his bicep. As Massie watched them, she found her gaze shifting over to the boy sitting next to Josh. His face was turned downwards towards his food, causing his dark bangs to fall adorably into his mismatched eyes. At that second Cam looked up at her, his eyes meeting hers for the briefest of moments before she quickly looked away, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and annoyance at having been caught staring at the very boy she was supposed to detest.

"Well?" Alicia snapped impatiently. "Do you think this means they're going out now?"

"No," Massie replied, focusing her attention back on the conversation at hand. "Kristen would've made sure to brag about it if they were."

"Point," Alicia acknowledged. "But do you think he likes her? You know, enough to ask her to the Winter Formal?"

"Ehmagawd, I totally forgot that dance was coming up!" Massie exclaimed.

"Oh, to have the luxury of not having to worry about silly things like dances," Alicia replied, rolling her eyes. "Well, not all of us have a date locked down. Or a back up date," she added resentfully, glancing pointedly at Cam.

Massie chose to ignore that last comment.

"Cheer up, Leesh. Even if Josh ends up taking Kristen, it's not like you'll be dateless. Kemp would be more than happy to take you to the Winter Formal."

"Going to the dance with Kemp. Oh yeah, that'll make for a romantic evening," Alicia scoffed.

"It's better than going solo," Massie reminded her. Alicia couldn't argue with that logic and fell silent, and Massie turned back to face Plovert, who was talking to Claire about Tuesday's soccer match.

"You and Massie are coming right?" he asked hopefully. Massie saw an opportunity to jump into the conversation and took it.

"Of course we are!" she exclaimed, causing Plovert to turn around and face her instead.

"Yeah, we go to all to your soccer games," Claire added.

"Well, no wonder we keep winning, then," Plovert smiled. "The guys on the other team are probably distracted by such good looking girls sitting in the stands." Claire blushed happily, and Massie smiled at how sweet and thoughtful her boyfriend was to lump Claire in with her. He knew all about Claire's recent Cam issues and was obviously trying to make her feel better about herself. As his name crossed her mind, Massie found herself peeking at Cam again out of the corner of her eye. He was wearing a weathered leather jacket over a plain white t-shirt that fit snugly over his toned chest. He looked good in an entirely effortless way, which only made him that much more attractive. Massie could easily see why Claire had it so bad for the one-blue-and-one-green eyed boy and was reminded of why she herself had liked him so much back in the seventh grade. Massie had been able to move on back in middle school, and hopefully Claire would be able to now.

"Hey, Mass!" Dylan called from the other side of Alicia. Cam looked up in interest as soon as he heard Massie's name, and Massie quickly averted her gaze before he could catch her staring at him _again_. "Me and Derrick are going out tonight. Do you and Chris wanna double?"

"Oh yeah, definitely," Massie agreed, glancing briefly at Plovert, who confirmed the plans with a wide smile. Cam rolled his eyes as he pushed his chair back away from the table and got up to throw his trash away. Massie impulsively grabbed her own trash and followed.

"Block," Cam greeted her stiffly when they'd both arrived at the garbage cans.

"Fisher," Massie replied, mimicking his tone. Cam said nothing and only stood there looking at her intently, his lips slowly turning up into a slight smile. Massie rolled her eyes.

"I know what you're doing, Cam," she warned.

"And what is it that I'm doing?" he asked innocently, blinking in confusion.

"You're trying to get me to fall for you so I'll dump Chris and go out with you instead," Massie insisted.

"Hey, _you_ followed _me_, remember?" Cam retorted.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Massie lied. "I just came over here to throw my trash away."

"What, Chris didn't volunteer to throw it away for you?" Cam scoffed.

"I can throw away my own trash. I can take care of myself, thank you very much."

"Which is exactly why Chris Plovert isn't the kind of guy you need to be with," Cam replied, stepping closer to Massie. "He treats you like a china doll. Wouldn't you rather have someone who'd be a little less...careful with you?" he asked, his voice low and suggestive. By this point Cam's face was only inches away from Massie's, so close that she could feel his breath on her lips and smell the clean scent of his shampoo.

"You disgust me," Massie spat, shoving him out of her way. She walked quickly back to her table, putting as much distance between them as possible until she had reached her chair and was sitting at the table with Plovert's arm securely around her.

"So what time tonight?" she asked Dylan brightly, as Cam slid discreetly back into his seat on the opposite side of the table.

"We're meeting at Slice of Heaven at seven," Dylan replied, naming their favorite pizza place.

"Perfect," Massie replied, forcing a smile. Maybe once she'd been on a real date with Chris she would finally be able to stop thinking about Cam. She glanced over at him involuntarily, and found him watching her again with those gorgeous eyes, his red lips just inviting her to kiss them.

Or maybe not.


	15. These Walls Are Falling Down

"Hey Josh," Alicia said brightly as the dark-haired boy entered math class and took his usual seat next to her.

"Hey," Josh replied, smiling briefly.

"Can I borrow your pen?" Without waiting for an answer, Alicia slowly leaned across the aisle to grab it off his desk, giving Josh a nice view of her ample cleavage.

"Yeah, sure," Josh mumbled, forcing himself to look up at her face.

"So, I hear you and Kristen are getting serious," Alicia began as she sat back in her seat, adopting an expression of polite interest.

"Not really," Josh replied dubiously.

"Well, Kristen seems to think you are. She really likes you, you know," Alicia told him, lowering her voice conspiratorially.

"She does?" Josh asked, his face lighting up. Alicia rolled her eyes, but faked a smile anyway, knowing how crucial it was that she play her part well.

"Yeah, it's kind of cute actually. It's like she's in love with you or something. She writes Mrs. Josh Hotz in cursive all over her binder and everything."

"You're kidding." Josh leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, squinting at Alicia disbelievingly.

"No, really, it's true. She even saves your old tissues and keeps them in a box under her bed so she'll feel close to you when she's asleep," Alicia lied.

"Uh, okay." Josh grimaced, obviously freaked out by this bit of false news. Alicia decided to press her advantage.

"Look, I know she's kind of socially retarded and weird, but she's my friend so just promise me you'll let her down easy," Alicia implored, placing a manicured hand on Josh's arm. "Maybe you should stop hanging out with her so much, you know, so you don't lead her on."

"Maybe that's a good idea," Josh agreed. "Oh, but I'm supposed to have a study date with her tonight," he remembered, frowning.

"Cancel it," Alicia suggested.

"No, I really need the help," Josh replied dismissively, shaking his head. "I gotta have at least a B average to keep my starting position on the soccer team."

"I'll tutor you," Alicia volunteered, ignoring the fact that her grades were no better than Josh's.

"Nah, I better just go. Thanks for the offer, though," Josh said, smiling at her genuinely. Alicia beamed.

"Anytime," she replied, winking at him flirtatiously and causing Josh's smile to widen. They both turned around in their desks to face the front of the room where their wrinkly old teacher was beginning the lesson in her famous monotone. Alicia sighed happily, pulling out her phone discreetly to text Massie about scheduling hair appointments for the Winter Formal. If she was going to have a boy as good looking as Josh Hotz as her date, she had to be a ten.

--

That evening when the door bell rang Kristen jumped up from her seat, smoothed her dirty blonde hair, and forced herself to walk slowly over to the front door so she wouldn't seem too eager.

"Hey, Josh!" she exclaimed as she threw the door open, unable to contain her excitement. Instead of returning her enthusiasm or even hugging her hello like she was expecting, Josh only smiled tightly.

"Let's just get this over with," he mumbled, pushing past her into the small apartment. Kristen frowned and followed him into the living room where they both took seats on the couch, Josh careful to keep a good six inches of space between them. They sat there in awkward silence for a few moments before Kristen spoke up.

"Um, I made brownies," she said lamely, pointing to the tray on the coffee table. Josh took one politely, looking anywhere but at her as he ate it.

"Oh, you got some on your lip," Kristen told him, reaching forward to brush it off for him. Josh waved her hand away.

"I got it," he said, grabbing a tissue and wiping his mouth. He crumpled it into a ball and, not seeing any trash cans in the vicinity of the couch, put it down on the edge of the coffee table.

"I'll throw that away for you," Kristen offered, taking any excuse to escape Josh's weird mood.

"Kay," he replied slowly, eyeing her suspiciously. Feeling utterly confused by Josh's behavior, Kristen picked up the used tissue and made her way into the kitchen to throw it away. When she returned seconds later and reclaimed her seat on the couch, careful to maintain the space Josh had created between them, she bent over and pulled a binder out of her school bag, deciding it was best to go ahead and get started. After she dropped the binder on the coffee table, Josh pulled it over towards him and picked it up. He held it close to his face and examined it as if he were searching for hidden markings. Kristen had just opened her mouth to ask Josh what the heck was up with him when he suddenly spoke.

"There aren't any _Mrs. Josh Hotz_es written on this binder," he said, turning towards Kristen with a perplexed look on his face. Kristen laughed.

"Why on earth would there be?"

"Alicia said--"

"Alicia?" Kristen interrupted. Suddenly the reason behind Josh's strange mood became incredibly clear. "Look, I don't know what all she told you, but I swear none of it's true."

"None of it?" he asked, his voice tinged with a mixture of relief and disappointment. "Not even the part about you liking me?"

"Well, maybe that part was a little true," Kristen admitted, smiling, and for the first time that night, Josh smiled right back at her.

--

Massie was sitting next to Plovert and opposite Dylan and Derrick in a cozy booth at Slice of Heaven when her cell phone buzzed, sending vibrations across the entire table. She hastily picked the phone up off the table top and opened her new text message.

**Kristen: **guess what!

Intrigued, and forgetting that she was supposed to be annoyed at the sporty blonde, Massie fired off a quick "what?" in reply.

**Kristen: **josh just asked me 2 the winter formal!

Massie's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Alicia had told her all about the successful Kristen sabotage, and she had assumed that Josh would want to take Alicia now. Apparently Kristen had more game than she thought.

Just as Massie was about to respond, her phone buzzed with another text message, this time from Alicia.

**Alicia: **did u hear about k & josh? WTF!

Massie rolled her eyes. She so did not want to deal with this right now. She was doing her best to compose a comforting reply when Chris touched her arm, trying to get her attention.

"Mass, you've been texting all through dinner," he accused her gently. "Think you could maybe pay attention to me a little?"

Massie lowered her phone guiltily. Alicia would just have to deal without her.

Ten minutes later, Derrick and Dylan had gotten up to go pay their bill, and Massie was sitting with Chris's arm around her, her head resting comfortably on his shoulder as she listened to him talk about the BOCD Tomahawks and their chances of winning the finals this year and maintaining the legacy that he, Derrick, Kemp, Cam, and Josh had left behind. Just then Massie felt her phone vibrating against her hip, and, betting that whatever she was being texted about was more interesting than the current snooze fest of a conversation, discreetly slipped it out of her pocket.

**Cam: **having fun, china doll?

Massie scowled, and, glancing up at Chris to make sure he wasn't paying attention, typed up a quick reply.

**Massie: **i was until u txted me.  
**Cam: **right, cause listening 2 plovert talk about sports or his dog or whatever is so interesting.  
**Massie: **for your information chris & i are in the middle of an absolutely riveting conversation.  
**Cam: **is that so?  
**Massie: **yes. it is.  
**Cam: **what about?  
**Massie: **none of your business!  
**Cam: **doesn't sound so "riveting" if u ask me

Massie was gaping at her phone, trying to devise a clever comeback, when Plovert suddenly reached over and playfully snatched it away from her.

"You just can't go ten minutes without texting, can you?" he asked teasingly, shaking his head in mock disappointment. Massie tried to grab it back, but he held it just out of her reach, chuckling in amusement. As soon as he read the name at the top of her inbox, however, his smile faded.

"You're texting Cam?" he asked in disbelief, a hurt expression on his face.

"No! I mean, yes, I was, but it wasn't because I wanted to talk to him, it was because--"

"It's okay, Mass," Plovert interrupted, speaking in a soothing tone in an attempt to calm her down. "I trust you."

Massie smiled gratefully and snuggled closer to Chris, but on the inside she felt overcome with guilt. Plovert's words, meant to make her feel better, only made her feel worse.


	16. And I Need You

here's a big thanks to all my reviewers!  
everytime a "review alert" pops up in my inbox my day gets a little brighter. :)

* * *

Despite the internal divisions that had recently formed within the Pretty Committee, Massie knew it was important that they present a united front to their peers, or else risk losing their coveted spot as the most popular girls in their grade. Which is why she, Claire, Alicia, Kristen, and Dylan sat huddled together on the bleachers at the boys' soccer game, bundled up in their winter coats and holding signs cheering on their favorite players. Dylan, her unruly red curls tamed into two pigtail braids and topped off with a white knit hat that she had pulled low over her ears, jumped up and shouted loudly for Derrick as he made an amazing save, waving a sign in the air reading "Holy Moley What a Goalie!" Kristen, ever the enthusiastic soccer fan, jumped up and cheered with her, clutching a sign that rooted for the entire team with the words "Go WHS!" printed on it in thick black sharpie. Alicia, still moping over Josh taking Kristen to the Winter Formal instead of her, remained in her seat, clutching an iPod Touch instead of a sign and playing Tap Tap Revenge instead of watching the game. Massie had brought a sign that she'd written "Go Chris!" on in purple glitter, but at the moment Claire was holding it up for her as she compiled a Winter Formal To Do List on her palm pilot.

"The dance is in just over two weeks," Massie paused, waiting for the girls to drop what they were doing and look up at her. Once Kristen had grudgingly torn her eyes away from the soccer field, Massie continued. "That means we need to schedule in hair appointments, mani-pedis, and a trip to New York City to go dress shopping." The girls nodded their agreement. "And you two," she added, looking pointedly at Claire and Alicia, "need to find dates. We don't need members of the PC looking like losers incapable of getting guys."

"Don't worry about me," Alicia replied, sounding bored and over it. "All I need to do is wear a v-neck shirt and drop a few obvious hints about not having a date yet and Kemp will ask me," she clarified, rolling her eyes. "But I would have rather had Josh ask me," she added under her breath. Massie pretended not to have heard that last bit and turned to face Claire expectantly.

"Couldn't I just...wait around and see if anyone asks me?" Claire asked. Kristen and Dylan exchanged did-she-really-just-say-that looks and Alicia rolled her eyes. Claire sighed.

"It doesn't work that way, Kuh-laire," Massie told her, sounding like she was talking to a five year old. "A boy isn't just going to walk up to you and ask you out of the blue. You've got to pick out the boy you want to go with and flirt with him for a while first so he knows you're interested. Then he might ask you."

"But...all the good ones are already taken," Claire answered helplessly.

"Just look at those boys down at the soccer field and pick one!" Massie told her exasperatedly.

"What about Danny Robbins?" Kristen suggested helpfully. Claire shook her head no.

"He's taking Layne," she explained.

"Really?" Alicia asked, looking up from her iPod. She pulled out her LG Shine, probably to pass the news on to Olivia in exchange for a few gossip points.

"What about Vader?" Dylan asked.

"Ew." Massie wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Claire can't go to the Winter Formal with a mouth breather."

Kristen had just opened her mouth to make another suggestion when Claire quickly cut her off.

"I'll think of someone," she told them, trying to sound confident. She held her breath as Massie turned around and scrutinized her.

"Fine," Massie said finally, and Claire let out a sigh of relief as everyone returned their attention to the ongoing soccer match. She was still just getting over Cam, and she wasn't really in the mood for letting her friends play match maker.

Once the game ended (WHS won three to nothing), the girls met up with the sweaty boys in the parking lot. Dylan ran up to Derrick and gave him a big hug, congratulating him on a good game, ignoring the fact that he was covered in dirt from diving for the ball. Massie, conscious of her clean clothes, kept her distance, greeting her own boyfriend with a smile and wave.

"Good game today, Chris," she told him brightly, trying to ignore the sting of jealousy she felt as she noticed Cam standing off to the side with a couple of blonde juniors.

"Thanks," he told her, grinning hugely. "I liked that sign you were holding," he added, gesturing to the white poster that was dangling at Massie's side.

"Oh yeah, I figured I could bring it with me to all your games and then give it to you to hang in your room when the season's over," Massie told him. "You know, to remind you of me."

"It'll go right over my bed," Chris promised. They stood there for a few moments in silence, looking around awkwardly. Massie caught herself glancing back over at Cam and those three junior girls, one of whom was now reaching up and pushing his hair back from his face flirtatiously, and she quickly turned back towards Plovert.

"So, have you rented a tux for the Winter Formal yet?" she asked him, half-jokingly.

"I haven't asked you yet," Chris replied, sounding slightly confused.

"Oh, I figured it was a given we were going together." Massie shrugged. "You know, because we're going out."

"Alright, I'll have my mom take me tux shopping this weekend," he told her, breaking out into a wide smile.

"Good," Massie said, but her eyes weren't on Chris. She was watching Cam as he disentangled himself from the three blondes and headed over towards Claire, who was waving goodbye to Layne and Danny as they drove off in his truck.

"Hey, Claire," Cam said softly. Claire turned around, eyeing him suspiciously.

"What's up?" she asked cautiously.

"Well, you see, the Winter Formal's coming up and--"

"I'm not getting Massie to go with you," Claire interrupted forcefully.

"No, that's not what I was going to ask you," Cam told her earnestly. "I'm pretty sure she's going with Plovert anyway," he added bitterly.

"Then what?" Claire asked.

"Well it's just that, I knew you didn't have a date yet, and I wanted to know if you would go with me."

"I don't know," Claire said slowly.

"Come on, it'll be fun. I promise I won't even mention Massie," Cam persuaded.

"Couldn't you just go with one of those girls you were just talking to?"

"If I was in the market for a new girlfriend, sure. But right now all I'm asking for is a friend. Could you maybe be that for me, Claire?"

Claire searched Cam's eyes, looking for signs that he was being dishonest, that he was scheming behind her back, that there was a catch. But all she saw was sincerity.

"Sure," Claire said finally, giving Cam a small smile. "I can do that."


End file.
